Cricket Fielding Positions Explained: A Complete Beginner’s Guide

New to cricket and confused when commentators say things like “he’s got three slips and a gully in”? This guide to cricket fielding positions explained for beginners will fix that. Every fielding position in cricket has a name based on where the fielder stands relative to the batter, the pitch, and the two sides of the field. Once you learn the logic behind the names — and the mental map of the ground — you will be able to read the field the way captains do, spot attacking versus defensive setups, and understand why a captain moves a fielder from point to third man between deliveries.

The 11-Player Setup: Wicketkeeper, Bowler and Nine Fielders

A cricket team fields with 11 players. Two have fixed jobs on every ball: the bowler, who delivers the ball, and the wicketkeeper, who crouches behind the stumps at the striker’s end wearing gloves and pads. The other nine players are the fielders, and the captain places them anywhere on the field (with a few legal restrictions we will cover below). There is no fixed formation in cricket like in football — the field changes ball by ball depending on the batter, the bowler, the match situation, and the format.

To describe positions, imagine you are the batter facing the bowler. The half of the field in front of your body (to your left if you are right-handed) is the off side; the half behind your body is the leg side (also called the on side). Positions are also described by angle: square means level with the batter’s crease, fine means close to the line behind the stumps, straight means behind or in front of the bowler, and deep means near the boundary rope. The 30-yard circle marked on the field is the fielding restriction area used in limited-overs cricket. With that mental compass, the names start making sense.

Off-Side Fielding Positions: From Slip to Cover

The off side is where most catching positions sit for right-handed batters, because the outside edge of the bat flies there. Here are the main off-side positions, roughly from behind the batter to in front:

• First slip, second slip, third slip, fourth slip: A line of catchers standing behind the batter on the off side, slightly angled. Slips exist to catch edges that fly off the bat. You will see multiple slips in Test cricket with the new ball; in white-ball cricket, there is usually just one slip or none at all.
• Gully: Stands a little wider and squarer than the slips — roughly between the slips and point. Gully catches thick edges that fly wider.
• Point: Stands square of the wicket on the off side, about 20-30 yards out. Point is one of the busiest infield positions and needs a quick, agile fielder with a strong throwing arm.
• Backward point: A slightly finer version of point, a touch behind square.
• Cover: Stands in front of square on the off side, between point and mid-off. Cover point sits between point and cover. Batters who “drive through the covers” are hitting into this region.
• Mid-off: Stands straight-ish on the off side, fairly close to the bowler. Along with mid-on, this is a classic position for a fast bowler’s early overs.
• Third man: A fine position behind the batter on the off side, near the boundary. Third man stops edges and glides that run away fine — and is almost always a boundary rider in limited-overs cricket.

Leg-Side Fielding Positions: Square Leg to Fine Leg

The leg side is where flicks, pulls, and glances go. Note one strict law: at the moment of delivery, no more than two fielders (other than the wicketkeeper) may stand behind the popping crease on the leg side. So you will never see a leg-side equivalent of a four-man slip cordon.

• Square leg: Stands square of the wicket on the leg side, in the umpire’s neighbourhood. The square-leg umpire stands nearby too.
• Midwicket: Stands in front of square on the leg side — one of the most common positions in all formats. Deep midwicket is its boundary-riding version.
• Mid-on: The leg-side mirror of mid-off, close to the bowler.
• Fine leg: Stands fine (close to behind the stumps) on the leg side. Short fine leg is close in for catches off glances; deep fine leg patrols the boundary.
• Long leg: A deeper, slightly squarer version of fine leg near the boundary.
• Short leg (and leg slip): Very close catching positions on the leg side, used mainly in Test cricket against spin. Fielders here wear helmets and shin guards because the ball arrives brutally fast.
• Silly point and silly mid-off/mid-on: “Silly” positions are dangerously close to the bat — silly because it seems silly to stand there. Used against spinners in Tests to catch bat-pad chances.

Straight and Deep: Positions on and Near the Boundary

Several positions sit straight up and down the ground or right on the rope:

• Long-on and long-off: Straight down the ground past the bowler, near the boundary. These are pure run-saving positions in limited-overs cricket.
• Deep cover, deep point, deep square leg, deep midwicket: The word “deep” simply moves any infield position back to the boundary. In T20 death overs, you will see five or six fielders with “deep” in their names.
• Cow corner: An informal, beloved name for the deep midwicket region — so called because even a “cow shot” (an agricultural heave) can clear it.

A handy rule: any position name prefixed with “short” is close to the batter (catching), and any prefixed with “deep” or “long” is near the boundary (run-saving). Captains constantly slide fielders between these depths as the match situation changes. Watching those small movements is one of the fastest ways to learn how fielding positions really work in live matches.

Cricket Fielding Positions Explained: How Captains Use Them in Different Formats

In Test cricket, with no fielding restrictions, you will see attacking fields: three or four slips, a gully, short leg, and silly point for a new-ball fast bowler; or a ring of close catchers around the bat for a spinner. In ODIs and T20s, ICC fielding restrictions (powerplays) cap how many fielders may stand outside the 30-yard circle — only two in the first 10 overs of an ODI and the first 6 overs of a T20 — which forces most fielders inside the ring. That is why white-ball fields look so different from Test fields, and why understanding the restriction rules explains most limited-overs field placements. You can read the full breakdown in our guide to cricket powerplay rules explained.

Beginners should also know that fielding positions are tactical messages. An extra slip says “we are hunting wickets.” A spread-out ring of boundary riders says “we are defending a total.” Next time you watch an IPL match, pause at the start of an over, name five fielding positions out loud, and ask yourself what the captain is trying to achieve — you will be surprised how quickly this guide turns you into a sharper, more confident viewer of the game.

Sources: ICC Men’s T20I Playing Conditions, Clause 21 (No Ball and Free Hit) — icc-cricket.com; ICC Men’s ODI Playing Conditions, Clause 16 (The Result and NRR) — icc-cricket.com.

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